The invention relates to a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle.
In recent years the continued rapid spread of mobile communication technology has resulted in, among other things, the development and availability of hands-free telephone devices that are configured for motor vehicles and interact with mobile telephones. In this case the hands-free telephone devices that are configured for motor vehicles and that are considered to be particularly advanced are those that interact and communicate with a mobile telephone, which may be found, in particular, in the vehicle or in close proximity to the vehicle, in a wireless manner, in particular, on the basis of the so-called Bluetooth standard.
For this purpose it is known that a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle automatically establishes a Bluetooth connection to a mobile telephone, which is assigned to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle, or vice versa, as soon as the mobile telephone is within the range of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle, and vice versa. Then, the mobile telephone and the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle can exchange data by way of the Bluetooth connection. Then, the exchange of voice data allows the voice communication, based on the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle and the mobile telephone, to be implemented by way of a mobile communication system. The exchange of control data allows the control of the mobile telephone to be implemented by way of a user interface of a motor vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to provide a means by which two mobile telephones can be comfortably operated by way of one hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle.
This and other objects are achieved by a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle comprising a communication interface, which is configured such that at least a first mobile telephone and a second mobile telephone are connectable, in particular in parallel or simultaneously, to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle; and a control unit, which is configured such that the mobile telephone address book entries from the first mobile telephone and the mobile telephone address book entries from the second mobile telephone are transferrable to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle by way of the communication interface. A common address book of the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle can be generated on the basis of the mobile telephone address book entries of the first mobile telephone and on the basis of the mobile telephone address book entries of the second mobile telephone.
According to the invention, the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle includes a communication interface, such as a Bluetooth interface, which is configured in such a way that at least a first mobile telephone and a second mobile telephone can be connected or are connected, in particular in parallel or simultaneously, to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle.
In this context, the term “connected” means preferably that a connection is actually established and/or that data items are actually transferred, in particular, that the mobile telephones are considered to be “connected” to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle in the sense of the Bluetooth specification. A connection is possible preferably only with mobile telephones that have been previously coupled or “paired” with the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle.
In addition, a control unit is provided. This control unit is configured in such a way that the mobile telephone address book entries from the first mobile telephone, for example, from a memory unit of a subscriber identity module (SIM) and/or from a memory unit of a telephone, and the mobile telephone address book entries from the second mobile telephone can be transferred or are transferred to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle by way of the communication interface.
A common, in particular combined, address book of the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle can be generated or a common address book of the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle is generated on the basis of the mobile telephone address book entries of the first mobile telephone and on the basis of the mobile telephone address book entries of the second mobile telephone. In this context, the term “address book” also includes the concept “telephone book.”
This arrangement allows a user of a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle to access the entries of the mobile telephone address book of two mobile telephones in a simple, reliable and convenient way during a trip without the user having to take his eyes off of the surrounding traffic situation.
Preferably, the address book of a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle can be stored in a memory unit of the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle and/or can be output totally or partially to a display unit that is coupled to the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle.
In a further development of the invention an identity tag (host ID), which is assigned to the address book entries and which is provided for the mobile telephone (host mobile telephone), from which the address book entry or entries originate, can be transferred to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle. The identity tag or an information item derived from the identity tag can be stored together with the related address book entry or entries in the memory unit of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle and/or can be output together with the related address book entry or entries to the display unit that is coupled with the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle.
As an alternative or in addition to this further development, it can be provided that an identity tag, which is generated by the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle, is assigned to the address book entries, originating from a specific mobile telephone, by way of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle.
This arrangement allows the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle to have available information about the host providers of the address book entries. In addition, a user can recognize the host provider (the first or the second mobile telephone) of the various address book entries.
In a further development of the invention the address book entries of the common address book of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle can be jointly sorted, for example, alphabetically, according to the host ID or the access frequency, or can be jointly filtered, for example, according to the host ID or the type of address book entry (private, business, etc.). This feature enhances the aforementioned advantages.
It is an advantageous embodiment of the invention that not only the address book entries of the mobile telephone, but also messages, calendar entries, tasks and/or memos from the mobile telephones can be transferred to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle by way of the communication interface, and that a common, in particular combined, message list, a common calendar, a common to-do list, and/or a common memo list can be generated on the basis of the transferred messages, calendar entries, tasks and/or memos. Further developments of this embodiment analogous to the aforementioned further developments of the alternative address books as well as the further developments of the alternative address books described below are also within the scope of the invention.
It is also a further development of the invention that a call setup can be carried out or is carried out automatically by way of the mobile telephone having an identity tag that is assigned to a selected address book entry. The selection of an address book entry is performed, for example, by use of an input unit that is assigned to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle. As an alternative to this further development, it can be provided that a user selects manually the connected mobile telephone that is to be used for setting up a call to a call number of a selected address book entry of the common address book of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle.
Another embodiment provides that when initiated by the user (for example, in reaction to a corresponding user input to an input unit coupled with the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle), a loudspeaker and a microphone of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle can be switched over from a communication link, which is established by way of the first mobile telephone, to a communication link, which is established by way of the second mobile telephone, in particular by the fact that the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle sends a to-hold command to the first mobile telephone by way of the communication interface and/or sends a voice activated command to the second mobile telephone, or vice versa.
An additional further development provides that, when initiated by the user, a loudspeaker and a microphone of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle can be switched simultaneously to a communication link, which is established by way of the first mobile telephone, and to a communication link, which is established by way of the second mobile telephone.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.